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Rajant’s "Launch on Alert" tests demonstrated that alarm companies can lower response time by supplementing their current infrastructure with drones.

October 11, 2017 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rajant,
a provider of private wireless networks, successfully conducted tests
that show the national average time for authorities to respond to a
verified home alarm – seven minutes – can be drastically lowered if
alarm companies use unmanned aerial systems (UAS, or drones), to
supplement their current infrastructure.

Rajant partnered with AlarmTransfer
of Norman, Oklahoma, to test the viability of using drones for aerial
surveillance throughout the neighborhoods where AlarmTransfer’s cameras
are stationed. The
"Launch on Alert" tests used the xCraft’s x2i Hybrid VTOL
drone, which runs on Rajant’s InstaMesh® networking technology, and can
fly for 45 minutes at speeds up to 60 mph. The tests proved that a home
alarm company can get aerial surveillance on the scene as quickly as 30
seconds.

“If an alarm is triggered, you want to get eyes on the scene as fast as
you can and find out what’s going on,” said Don Gilbreath, vice
president, systems, for Rajant. “This UAS system can cut response time
down to a few minutes or even seconds, which increases the safety of
communities and decreases police department overhead by reducing false
calls for service.”

The drones live in “nests” that are autonomous recharging units, located
within a certain geographic radius of a business or residential
customer. When a customer’s alarm or alert is triggered, information is
sent to a drone nest that gives the drone relevant data on the event.
The nest then deploys a drone. Computer logic dictates flight path and
the type of a drone responding (e.g., sending a drone with a thermal
camera for a fire event).

The drone flies along a predetermined route to investigate. There is an
open link between the drone’s feed and a command center, so operators
can view the scene and take remote control as needed. Once the
investigation is complete, the drone returns to the nest, docks, begins
recharging, and waits for next mission. The system can choose to send
one or more drones at one time to respond to a particular alarm, and the
entire process is autonomous.

“The one place you should feel safe is your own neighborhood,” said Lee
Stauss, CEO for AlarmTransfer. “With Rajant, we have the ability to
deploy multiple drones that are interconnected, so they all communicate
with each other to track suspicious activity on the property in real
time. We’re able to look at the whole community at once, at a much
greater level of detail.”

The communications and flight control system are platform agnostic,
allowing companies to use whatever drone system best fits its
application. A control station allows personnel to monitor the drone’s
avatar as well as its telemetry, communications and live video feed, all
in real time. A single person can control the entire fleet as well as
the cameras aboard each drone, to angle cameras toward a specific region
of interest.

“Because every drone is on our mesh network, all drones are in
communication with each other,” Gilbreath said. “This allows them to
share information and work together to fly to a location and gain aerial
intelligence faster than a land vehicle can.”

“Rajant’s network and the x2i drone allow us to build an aerial platform
to create faster response times take some burden off the police
department, with a camera system to deter crime,” Stauss added. “The key
is being able to intervene and change the course of an event as it’s
unfolding. With this technology, we don’t have to stand by passively and
wait for first responders to arrive. Now, when something happens, we
have the ability to go out and stop it.”

About Rajant Corporation

Rajant Corporation is the exclusive provider of private wireless
networks powered by the patented Kinetic Mesh® Network, BreadCrumb®
network nodes, and InstaMesh® networking software. With Rajant,
customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network
that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand,
critical business intelligence. Rajant BreadCrumbs can seamlessly
integrate with any Wi-Fi or Ethernet-connected device to deliver
low-latency, high-throughput data, voice and video applications across
the meshed, self-healing network. With the ability to take private
network applications and data everywhere, Rajant networks are used
across a broad array of industries, including military, industrial,
transportation, utilities, telecommunications, and all levels of
governments.